


Spaces Left Open

by Omorka



Category: Firefly
Genre: Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-22
Updated: 2010-03-22
Packaged: 2017-10-08 05:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorka/pseuds/Omorka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River doesn't react well to changes in her environment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spaces Left Open

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "She was a phantom of delight analysis," from Follybard on a fanfic meme on my LJ. Post-series, pre-BDM.

She was a phantom of delight analysis; River understood that. The spaces she left in the ship were open, flowing, as she always strove to appear. But the curtains had fallen; that act was over.

"River?" Kaylee called from the doorway. "Hon, it's dinnertime. Book made oatmeal."

The prospect of boiled grass seed was unappealing, despite the known and acutely quantified skill of its preparer. "An oat meal. Meal, milled, ground down. Out of the ground. On the ground." She was grounded, now, without the shuttle. "But not dirty."

"No, the oatmeal's not dirty. River, what are you talking about?" Kaylee took a couple of steps into the empty space. "We even, well, Book, specifically, he found a little cinnamon and sugar."

"It's supposed to have butter and brown sugar." River's eyes focused on Kaylee for a second, dangerously, then faded again. "Butter, cream. Slippery and smooth."

Kaylee sat down slowly next to River on the metal plating of the floor. "Yeah, back home we'd add butter with the cinnamon sugar if we had any. Sometimes we had the butter and the cinnamon but not the sugar." She smiled; the illusion of innocence was overpowering, heady. "Tastes fine either way." Her features melted into concern again. "Come on, you haven't eaten all day. Simon's worried."

"You carry his worry for him." River frowned; one hand darted out to trace the curve of Kaylee's cheek before she snatched it back. "Don't. It doesn't weigh less on him for your effort."

"Can't help it." Kaylee exhaled sharply. " 'Sides, we all gotta pull together around here, these days."

River looked at the bare walls. "Tell my brother - the ambience is better in here. Auspicious." Her face split in a dazzling grin. "I'll wait."

\---

"Is she comin' down or not?" Mal grumbled at his engineer as Kaylee re-entered the kitchen.

"She said," Kaylee reported to Simon, ignoring the captain, "that the ambience was better in there, but she'd wait." She shrugged apologetically at Book, still standing over the big pot, ladle in hand. "I don't think she's coming out."

"I'll take her a bowl," the Shepherd offered. "There's plenty - the folks at the abbey were more than generous."

Simon started to decline, then stopped, his head in mid-shake. "Thank you," he said, fatigue heavy in his voice. "I don't know why she won't leave the shuttle."

"Because it smells better than the rest of the ship," Zoe shrugged, setting her spoon back in her empty bowl. Simon shot her a curious look. Zoe returned it, levelly. "I asked her, and that's what she said."

"She gave you a straight answer?" Jayne snorted. "That's a miracle right there."

Mal stood up, shoulders stiff. "I don't mind her campin' out in Inara's old shuttle, as long as she understands that she ain't to touch the controls and she's ready to vacate if we need it." He stretched. "After transporting those horses, she's not wrong about the rest of the ship needin' a bit of airing out. Good grub, Shepherd, thanks."

Book finished filling a small bowl. "It's a big shift for her, losing one of the people who's been here since she woke up in the cargo bay." He added a spoon and sprinkled a pinch of the precious brown powder over the top. "She'll just need some time to adjust, I'm sure."

"Well, I miss her, too. We all do," Kaylee said softly, trying not to look at Mal and failing. The captain frowned, and began gathering the used dishes.

Book nodded and stepped out into the corridor leading to the shuttle. Cinnamon clashed with the memory of incense for an instant, before fading into the dull funk of the ship.


End file.
